除了煮方便面,现在城市里的年轻人会做饭的估计没几个。但苏格兰小伙子弗雷泽·多尔蒂显然与一般年轻人不同。14岁那年,祖母教会他做果酱,一个果酱王国随之诞生。
一开始,弗雷泽只是把果酱卖给邻居和附近的农场。经过不断的研究,他发展出一套制作纯天然果酱的方法。弗雷泽随后着手打造自己的品牌,不断完善果酱配方,终于成功让其果酱在英国大型超市上架,成为年轻的企业家。他现在的目标是拓展海外市场,让更多人享用到这种天然美味。
I guess it’s not every 14-years-old that wakes up, stumbles[绊倒] out of bed, goes to the kitchen, and makes jam. Let’s just say Fraser is special. Fraser Doherty now runs his company, SuperJam. He was taught to make jam by his grandmother at the age of 14. He later began making jam at home, selling it to neighbours, at farmers’ markets, and to local shops.
Doherty became the youngest ever supplier to a major UK supermarket in 2007, when Waitrose launched SuperJam in its chain of more than 190 stores.
A company estimated to be worth over £1 million, I guess he’s not done too bad for himself.
I got the chance to ask him a few questions about his life and work.
我想不是每个14岁的孩子每天醒来都会跌跌撞撞地从床上爬下来,走进厨房做果酱。所以说,弗雷泽与众不同。现在,弗雷泽·多尔蒂经营着一家自己的公司,名叫“超级果酱(SuperJam)”。14岁时,祖母教他制作果酱。后来,他开始在家里自制果酱,将它们卖给邻居,也在农产品市场和当地的商店里销售。
2007年,英国大型超市韦特罗斯超市开始在其190多家分店出售超级果酱,多尔蒂由此成为这家超市有史以来最年轻的供应商。
据估计,多尔蒂公司的价值已经超过一百万英镑。我想这样的成绩对他来说还算不赖。
我得到一个采访他的机会,问了关于其生活和工作的一些问题。
Q: It’s not every 14-year-old that wakes up and wants to start up their own business. What inspired you to do that at such a young age?
Doherty: I was inspired to start making jam by my grandmother. She was cooking jam in the kitchen one afternoon, and I got really excited about it and started cooking jam as a hobby in my spare time. The neighbours soon started buying my homemade jam, then I began selling it at farmers’ markets and to small shops.
问:并不是所有14岁的孩子一早醒来就会想到自己创业。是什么让你年纪轻轻就想做这件事情呢?
多尔蒂:启发我制作果酱的是我的祖母。一天下午,她在厨房里做果酱,我突然对这件事情很感兴趣,后来我一有空就会做做果酱,把它当成一种爱好。不久,邻居们开始购买我的自制果酱,然后我便开始在农产品市场和小商店里销售果酱。
Q: Were you exposed to entrepreneurship[企业家的身份] as a child? Did you have any family members who influenced you in that way?
Doherty: As a kid, my parents and family weren’t entrepreneurs, but they always let me try out new things and do whatever I wanted to do in my spare time. I was always interested in making a bit of extra pocket money and tried out all kinds of ideas. My favourite story of all is when I hatched out some chickens from eggs that I got from a local farm; I kept the eggs warm on top of the telly[电视], and amazingly they hatched. I sold the eggs to the neighbours and that was my first ever little business.
问:你从小就接触做生意吗?有没有家庭成员给你带来这方面的影响?
多尔蒂:小时候,我父母和家人都不是生意人,但他们总是鼓励我在闲暇时多尝试一些自己想做的事情。我一直想多赚点零花钱,也试过将各种想法付诸实践。我最喜欢的一个小故事是我用从当地一家农场得来的鸡蛋孵出了小鸡。当时,我把鸡蛋放在电视机上保暖,后来它们竟然神奇地孵化了。于是我把鸡蛋卖给邻居,那就是我做成的第一笔小生意。
Q: On those impossible days starting up, what motivated you to keep going?
Doherty: I was motivated by a feeling that I was doing something worthwhile with my life and by the fact that I was enjoying what I was doing every step of the way.
问:在艰苦的创业阶段,是什么激励着你坚持不懈?
多尔蒂:我知道自己正在从事一项不枉此生的工作;此外,我由始至终都很享受这个过程——这两者激励我前进。
Q: How do you manage the growth of your company?
Doherty: The business is growing very fast, and we’re launching in new stores all of the time. The most important things are that we have stayed focused on the idea of making 100% pure fruit jams, have focused on keeping the retailers[零售商] happy, and have improved every aspect of the business as we’ve moved forward.
问:你如何让公司发展壮大?
多尔蒂:公司的业务增长得很快,我们一直都在新店里推出产品。最重要的是,我们一直专注于制作100%纯果酱这个理念,专注于保持零售商的满意度,在发展过程中对公司的每一个方面都做出改进。
Q: Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Doherty: I admire entrepreneurs like the late[已故的] Anita Roddick注 and other entrepreneurs that have run businesses with not only an aim of making money, but with an aim of making the world a better place. Inspired by companies like theirs, I set up a charitable[慈善的] project over a year ago, running tea parties for lonely elderly people. We have now run over 120 tea parties, with live music, dancing, and scones[烤饼] and tea; the larger events have attracted over 500 guests. It feels great to be able to put something positive[积极的] like that into the world.
问:除了自己的公司,你最欣赏哪家公司或企业?
多尔蒂:我欣赏像已故的安妮塔·罗迪克这样的企业家,他们开公司不仅仅是为了赚钱,还希望让这个世界变得更美好。受到这类公司的启发,我在一年多以前启动了一个慈善项目,举办茶会招待孤寡老人。目前我们已经举办了超过120场茶会,现场演奏音乐,人们可以跳舞,还有烤饼和茶水;比较大型的一次茶会吸引了500多位客人参加。能够为这个世界增添一些此等美善之事,感觉真不错。
Q: What sacrifices did you have to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Doherty: Getting the business off the ground[(使)顺利开始] took a huge amount of hard work. In the early days I was spending 12 or more hours a day in the kitchen. I have to spend a lot of time on the road, visiting customers and sharing my story at events around the world. It has been worth all of the work and I’ve enjoyed it all along.
问:要成为一位成功的企业家,你必须做出什么牺牲?
多尔蒂:让公司业务起步需要大量的艰苦奋斗。起初,我每天都要在厨房里待上至少12个小时。另外我还要花很多时间在路上奔波,拜访顾客,或者参加世界各地的活动,分享我的故事。但付出的所有努力都是值得的,我一直都很享受这个过程。
Q: What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Doherty: I enjoy cooking, traveling and music. I don’t work at the weekends and have plenty of time to spend with my friends.
问:你有什么兴趣爱好?在业余时间你会做些什么呢?
多尔蒂:我喜欢烹饪、旅行和音乐。我周末不工作,有很多时间和朋友们相聚。
Q: What qualities have you developed as a result of running your business?
Doherty: I am invited to speak at events every week at schools, colleges, universities and conferences, sharing the story of how I built my gran’s jam recipe[烹饪法] into a successful company. Having that experience has helped me to become good at talking to audiences, and I’m getting invited to bigger and bigger events, sometimes in the US and around Europe.
问:你身上有哪些品质来源于经营公司这段经历?
多尔蒂:每个星期我都受邀到各中学、高校和会议上发表演讲,分享我如何把祖母的果酱菜谱发展为一个成功公司的故事。这种经历使我更擅长在听众面前发言。我也逐渐受邀参加更大型的活动,有时要去美国和欧洲各地演讲。
Q: How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Doherty: My family have enjoyed the adventure of the past few years, and without their amazing support it wouldn’t have been possible.
问:企业家的身份为你的家庭生活带来了什么影响?
多尔蒂:我的家人很享受过去几年的这段经历。没有他们的大力支持,这一切都不可能实现。
Q: What is your advice to upcoming entrepreneurs?
Doherty: Be willing to give things a shot[尝试] and don’t be afraid that they might not work out. I’d also say it’s a great idea to find a mentor[指导者] – someone who has already “been there and done it.” The best advice I have had was from my mentor, who taught me about how supermarkets worked and gave me a lot of confidence in my product.
问:你对未来的企业家新人有什么建议呢?
多尔蒂:要愿意去尝试,不要害怕事情可能会失败。我还想说,找一位“过来人”当导师也是不错的主意。我能提出的最好的建议正是来自我的导师,他向我传授了超市的运作模式,也让我对自己的产品充满信心。
注:安妮塔·罗迪克(1942-2007)是英国著名的政治家、企业家、商业家,创立了世界著名品牌“美体小铺”(The Body Shop)。她所倡导的社会责任与环保活动深深地影响甚至改变了整个商业世界的运作。